Here are a few of the most amazing man-made places on Earth!
7 - Potala Palace
Today Potala Palace is a museum and world heritage site.
But in its heyday, Potala Palace was actually the residence of the Dalai Lama, until the
14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
Built in 1645 on the side of “Red Mountain” in the Lhasa Valley in China, this amazing
palace stretches out more than 400 meters east to west, and 350 meters north to south.
I’d say that’s plenty of room to stretch out for just about anyone.
The walls are more than 16 feet thick, and copper was poured into the foundation, which
essentially makes the palace earthquake proof!
The palace sits atop the mountain, more than 1,000 feet above the valley floor.
Inside the palace, more than 10,000 religious shrines can be found, along with 200,000 statues
and more than 1,000 rooms!
A thousand rooms and 200,000 statues huh?
That’s it?
Who’s doing all the dusting around this place?!
The palace isn’t just visually breathtaking, it also has religious significance rooted
in Tibetan Buddhism.
The Tibetans themselves rarely speak of the sacred place as the "Potala", but rather as
"Peak Potala", or usually as "the Peak".
The three hills of the Lhasa Valley are said to symbolize the three protectors of Tibet.
Ever since the Tibetan uprising that forced the Dalai Lama out, the palace has been a
museum since then, which welcomes on average, 1,500 visitors a day.
6 - Coral Castle
Now when you think of castles, chances are you imagine medieval kings and queens.
Maybe there’re some images of knights in armor, a moat with a crocodile or two, and
some archers.
Maybe you imagine a castle in the mountains of Switzerland, or maybe it’s a castle overlooking
the ocean.
Whatever it is, I bet you probably never imagined a castle built by a random guy in Florida,
which is exactly what describes Coral Castle.
The mastermind behind this mid-century marvel was Edward Leedskalnin, a Latvian immigrant.
Known to be quite an eccentric dude, Edward moved to the U.S from Latvia in 1912 after
his fiancée decided not to get married to him.
Facing a deadly bout with tuberculosis, he moved to Florida and he claimed to have been
cured of the disease by using magnets.
Ummmm okay.
Anyways, he set out to building his castle in 1923.
Somehow he managed to build an actual castle that he simply called “Ed’s Place.”
Unhappy with all the attention he was getting, he actually decided to move his castle 10
miles north and began rebuilding.
That’s…..just completely insane to me.
Now how exactly he managed to build a castle all by himself, let alone move it, is as big
of a mystery as why he decided to build it in the first place.
And let’s not forget the question of how magnets cured his tuberculosis.
Some kids once claimed they saw him moving massive stones as if they were “helium balloons.”
The only explanation Edward ever offered was that “It’s not difficult if you know how.”
I can’t disagree with THAT statement.
He also claimed to have supernatural powers, and that he found out the secrets of what
the builders of the ancient pyramids employed.
Experts think he probably just used the old fashioned block and tackle system of pulleys.
The crazy thing is, he used no mortar to keep the stones together.
Instead he relied on the weight of the stones, which collectively weigh about 1,000 tons,
to hold each other up.
He even carved some of the stones into shapes, such as a moon and planets.
He managed to fit the stones together so precisely, that absolutely no light shows through the
cracks.
Edward eventually began giving tours to the public, though he never answered the question
about how he did all of this other than the classic, “It’s not difficult if you know
how.”
Thanks Captain Obvious.
Anyway, he died in 1951 but his legacy, odd as it may be, lives on.
Coral Castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
And to give you an idea of how good a job he did, the castle was virtually unharmed
during Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
5 - Leshan Giant Buddha
Towering 223 feet above the ground, the Leshan Giant Buddha Statue was built between 713
and 803 during the Tang Dynasty in China.
Carved on the side of a cliff that faces Mount Emei in China, the statue lies at the intersection
of the Dadu, Qingy, and Minjiang rivers.
The statue depicts Maitreya, a Buddha from the future who, according to Buddhist prophecy,
will appear on earth to achieve complete enlightenment and will teach others how to do so.
When construction began way back in 713, the thinking was that it would help calm the waters
of the rivers, which had been troublesome for shipping vessels.
Ironically, since the stone was chipped away and fell into the river, the waters are actually
significantly calmer as a result.
Spearheaded by a monk named Hai Tong, the project took 70 years to finish, since funding
was an issue.
However, Hai Tong’s disciples saw the project through, and we now have this amazing statue
to marvel at today.
Since 1996, it’s been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In addition to the massive proportion and immaculate detail, the statue also has a sophisticated
drainage system built into it to help drain water when it rains.
The drainage system was designed to prevent the statue from excessive weathering and is
still in working order to this day.
However, the Buddha has been affected by the pollution emanating from the development in
the region.
The government has promised restoration work and plans to restore and maintain the statue
are apparently in the works.
4 - Kizhi Pogost
These amazing wooden churches located on Kizhi Island in Russia have been around since the
18th century.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of these churches is that they’re built entirely
of wood.
However, what’s even more mind boggling is that the builders didn’t need to use
a single nail to build these amazing structures.
Interlocking pieces of wood has kept these buildings stable for centuries.
In 1714, the Church of Transfiguration was built on Kizhi Island, 300 miles north of
St. Petersburg.
It stands 120 feet tall, looming over the grassy island and stunning water surrounding
the island.
The builders' names are unknown.
The legend is that the main builder used one axe for the whole construction, which he threw
into the lake after completion while saying quote, "there was not and will be not another
one to match it”.
I’d say that’s a pretty boss way to finish building something.
50 years later, the equally impressive Intercession Church was built, at over 10 stories high.
There’s even an octagonal bell tower made from wood.
I hope this church was finished in the same manner as the Church of Transfiguration!
Inside the churches are many icons paying homage to the Russian Orthodox faith.
Given the uniqueness of these two buildings, these churches have been designated as a UNESCO
World Heritage site.
Hopefully, future generations can marvel at these structures for centuries to come.
3 - The Georgia Guidestones
They’ve been called America's Stonehenge, and these stones relay a very eerie message.
Located in Elbert County, Georgia, The Georgia Guidestones are a set of granite pillars that
have 10 guidelines, inscribed in eight different languages for humanity to live by.
Beside the guidestones is a tablet with an inscription that says “Let these be guidestones
to an age of reason.”
Towering 16 feet above the ground, the guidestones also have some astronomical significance.
The stones are positioned in a way that marks the lunar standstill, which happens every
18.6 years.
The center column has a hole in the center that lines up with the North Star and another
slot that lines up with the Sun’s Solstices and equinoxes.
Positioned at Elbert County’s highest point, the monuments track the sun’s east to west
migration.
The guidestones have been described as a clock, compass, and calendar.
So given everything I just told you, the Georgia Guidestones are pretty much a conspiracy theorist’s
wet dream...or worst nightmare.
Exactly who built these and why is still kind of a mystery.
Here’s what we do know.
A man calling himself Robert C. Christian commissioned the Elbert County Granite Finishing
Company to have these pillars built in 1979.
He claimed to be part of a group of quote “loyal Americans” who had been planning
the guidestones for 20 years.
He wanted pillars built that could withstand just about anything, so the remnants of a
devastated civilization would have instructions to rebuild a better society.
Hmmmmmm yeah.
On March 22, 1980, the tablets were unveiled in front of a crowd of a few hundred people.
So what’s really going on?
It’s hard to say.
They’ve been called the “10 Commandments of the Antichrist.”
Some people think they’re from some sort of evil satanic New World Order.
There’s even chatter about them being connected to a medieval secret society known as the
Rosicrucians.
However, others have suggested that they’re simply guidelines for humanity to rebuild
itself following some sort of devastating war.
We may never know for sure who had these tablets built and for what purpose.
In any case, it’s still a pretty interesting structure with a pretty interesting purpose.
2 - The Global Seed Vault
If you were to stroll by the global seed vault during the day, this place might not even
catch your eye at first as it looks pretty basic.
But it’s the inside that’s gonna be what really makes you say wow.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located above the Arctic Circle in Norway.
Its purpose is to store hundreds of thousands of plant seeds in case of some sort of global
crisis happens, such as a nuclear war, climate change, alien invasion, or anything that will
sufficiently f*ck up the world.
In theory, this place can survive any of these events.
Opened by the Norwegian Government in 2008, this place stores seeds for vital food sources,
such as beans, rice, and wheat, just to name a few.
Fully funded by the Norwegian government, the seed vault has seeds sent from all over
the world for long term safekeeping.
The location of this seed lab was very deliberate.
Built 390 feet underneath a sandstone mountain on Spitsbergen Island, the area has no tectonic
activity, and the permafrost helps with the preservation.
Even though it’s inside of a mountain, it’s way above sea level, so even if the ice caps
melt, the seeds suppsedly will stay dry.
Also, the facility is built to store around 4.5 million seed samples.
In addition to the state of art security systems, the seed vault also has a public art feature.
Yep, that’s right, a public art exhibit is part of the seed vault.
I mean…..how many visitors does this place get a year?!
Norwegian artist, Dyveke Sanne was hired to create an art exhibit.
The roof and front entrance are adorned with reflective steel, mirrors and prisms, which
creates an illuminating light.
During the summer, the artwork reflects polar light and in the winter, it reflects a greenish
light.
During spring 2017, the first bit of catastrophe hit the seed vault.
With temperatures 7 degrees Celsius or basically 44 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, the permafrost
partially melted and flooded parts of the entrance.
This obviously called into question how climate resilient the vault actually was.
The good news is that seeds in the vault remained unharmed.
1 - Sedlec Ossuary
Some way, somehow, someone thought it was a good idea to decorate a church with bones
everywhere.
Dating back to the 13th century, the cemetery at the Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic
was THE place to be buried.
But over the years as tens of thousands of people opted to be buried there, they pretty
much ran out of space.
Eventually they began moving bodies out of the crypt to make room for the newly dead.
The ossuary is estimated to contain the skeletons of between 40,000 and 70,000 people, whose
bones have, in many cases, been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings
for the chapel.
In 1870, a local woodcarver was hired to find a way to decorate the church using the bones
of thousands of dead people.
I’m gonna have to assume that he wasn’t the first person they asked, but definitely
the last.
There’s a chandelier made entirely of bones, huge bone pyramids, skull candleholders, a
coat of arms forged from bones, and the list goes on and on.
While this all sounds incredibly morbid, the philosophy behind the design is actually pretty
encouraging and makes sense.
The idea is that death is a natural occurrence and is something that shouldn’t be feared,
but rather embraced.
More than 200,000 people visit the Bone church each year, and are greeted by the bones of
more than 40,000 dead people.
The church allegedly provided the inspiration for Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses.
I’m just wondering if this place has a specific smell because
of the bones!
Here’s what’s next!